A supervisor took over a municipal agency position from a retiring friend and inherited part-time employees who were loyal to the predecessor and accustomed to minimal structure. Attempts to introduce small changes were met with resistance and repeated claims that 'that's not how we have done it before.' The supervisor fears reporting problems upward because supervisors will view complaints as personal incompatibility. Staff openly defy requests, undermining authority and causing embarrassment. The supervisor lacks support from both employees and upper management. Advice given emphasizes clarifying success measures with higher-ups, understanding expectations, and identifying systems that define performance and encourage growth.
I started a new job a year ago. I took over as a supervisor at a municipal agency and from an individual who was retiring and who is a friend of mine. The position that I took over for had a number of employees who were working part-time, having retired from full-time jobs. They were very loyal to my predecessor, and he let them do what they wanted as long as it got done. There was no structure at the workplace.
I tried to implement small things while starting out and, each time, I would get the response that that's not how we have done it before. I didn't want to make it like it was my way only, but things needed to change. If I were to complain to my supervisors, then they would think I was doing the complaining and that I could not get along with anyone. They wouldn't listen to me at all.
Respect from the employees you supervise is important here, and I don't want to dismiss that, but it's also crucial to think about the expectations that are being placed on you, the expectations that you're placing on yourself and the expectations you have for the workplace. To that end, see if you can get clarity from your supervisors about what success looks like for you, how they measure it and what systems are in place to encourage growth.
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